After Midnight
for release 09-19-07
Washington DC
by Lightning Rod
Based on the idea of the famous Doomsday Clock maintained since 1947 by the Board of Directors of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists at the University of Chicago, the American Civil Liberties Union has established a Surveillance Society Clock. The concept is that when the clock strikes midnight we're living in 1984. We have full Surveillance Society.
According the ACLU web site,:
The ACLU clock is ticking at 11:54, six minutes to midnight. With all respect to the ACLU, The Poet's Eye thinks that their clock is running a little slow. I put it at about a quarter past.The reality is we are fast approaching a genuine surveillance society in the United States - a dark future where our every move, our every transaction, our every communication is recorded, compiled, and stored away, ready to be examined and used against us by the authorities whenever they want.
Already private companies know more about us than you could ever imagine. They know how much beer you buy and what brand. They know what prescriptions you take and what time of month you buy tampons. They know what books and magazines you read. They know everywhere you've ever been on the internet. They know who you call on the phone and who calls you. They know how many times you've been to the doctor and for what. They know what an embarrassingly short time you spend talking to your personal telephone sex goddess. I'm sure that this information is used by and large for harmless purposes like targeting advertising, making credit decisions, etc, but more sinister applications are certainly possible.
Now, thanks to the wonderful piece of forward thinking legislation that I like to call the RapeRiot Act, the government can share in this treasure trove of information gathered by private corporations. And they don't even need to mess with pesky things like due process and warrants! Doesn't that just make you feel safe and cozy?
But there is another side to the surveillance game. Information technology also makes it possible for a citizen or group of citizens to spy on the government. They don't need a court order either, just ingenuity. A creative hacker can be James Bond. There is a potential Michael Moore born every minute. A case in point is the arrest and tasering of Andrew Meyer in Florida on Monday. By Monday evening there were at least six versions of the incident on YouTube. A well informed citizenry is essential to a free society. While the government and private corporations are in a position to know more and more about you, you are also equipped to know more about what they do.
Information is a mighty tool and the deadliest weapon. The Poet's Eye loves to see the blogosphere prospering and citizen based video news coverage through outlets like YouTube. It's the only way we have of fighting back.
But it's already after midnight.
After midnight, were gonna let it all hang down.
After midnight, were gonna chug-a-lug and shout.
Were gonna stimulate some action;
Were gonna get some satisfaction.
Were gonna find out what it is all about.
After midnight, were gonna let it all hang down.
--J.J. Cale
